Be Brave. {Exodus 1 & 2}

When we think of the beginning of the story of Moses, we typically think of a baby in a basket floating on the Nile.

But as we begin our reading through Exodus, we see 5 women – in the midst of a crisis, courageously standing against the violence of the culture surrounding them. God used these seemingly insignificant women to protect and nurture the man that God would use to deliver his people.

These women put a hand in the face of injustice and evil and said – No.

Let’s take a look at these brave women from Exodus 1 & 2.

Shiphrah and Puah

The names Shiphrah and Puah rarely make the Sunday School version of this story but they were Hebrew midwives, commanded by Pharaoh –the King of Egypt, to kill all the baby boys as they were born.

“But the midwives feared God and did not do as the King of Egypt commanded them.” ~Exodus 1:17

Is anyone else pumping their fist in the air and cheering for the midwives -yes – yes – yes! They chose life! Their bravery set into motion the deliverance of Israel! These women knew their God and trusted in Him. Had their plan been discovered, the cost may have been their lives but with a steadfast conviction, they did what was right. And they were blessed.

Oh Christian women, may we fear God only, in the midst of a dark culture and take a stand for what is right.

Exodus 1:21 says, “Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.”

Moses’ Mother

She was already a mother of two and now pregnant again. I can only imagine the sort of fears she must have felt as she wondered – will I birth a boy or a girl? And then the baby was born and the crushing blow…it’s a boy.

Courageously she hid her baby for 3 months and when she could no longer hide his cries…she prepared a basket…and put her tiny newborn into it.

She let go of the basket.

She released her little boy.

She stepped away and trusted God.

And my momma heart breaks imaging this scene – the exhaustion of 3 months nursing her newborn –trying to hide his cries, living day and night in fear…now released into the loving hands of God.

A picture of courage in the face of fear and opposition.

Miriam

Miriam was Mose’s big sister. She would have been with her mother at birth and helped around the house after her delivery. Perhaps she rocked the baby when her mother was weary and helped conceal the her brother’s cries. She would have been at her mother’s side and saw her trembling hands and tears as she placed Moses into the basket.

Following her brother’s basket down the river would have been only natural for a big sister to do. Running, peeking, keeping an eye on the basket as it floated down among the reeds.

And when the basket arrived in front of Pharoah’s daughter – this little girl Miriam had the mind and wit about her to speak up!

“Shall I go and call you a nurse form the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” (Ex.2:7)

And then something amazing happens! Pharoah’s daughter pays Moses’ mother to nurse him! Do you know anyone who is paid to nurse their own child? That’s our God – only hours earlier Moses’ mother released him down the Nile and now her baby boy was back safely in her arms.

Miriam, full of bravery, spoke up at just the right time and now the fear was gone as Pharoah’s daughter’s protection surrounded this boy.

Pharoah’s Daughter

She would have been well aware of her father’s edict to kill the Hebrew baby boys and she would have recognized the baby in the basket, as a Hebrew. But with compassion, she used her power and privilege to save Moses.

This would have taken courage as well, as I am sure there were those in the palace who greatly disapproved of her choice, but the education and training Moses received under her care would prepare Moses to lead the Israelites.

God was sovereignly protecting Moses using each of these brave women in His life.

Be Brave.

Our stories may not seem grand. We are not hiding babies, parting the red sea or fighting mighty armies. But we see in this story God used 5 unlikely women – women like you and me, to accomplish His purposes.

Comments

Those midwives we extremely brave! I was really in awe of that this week. I feel like I tend to fear rejection from others but God has really been speaking to me to be brave and reach out to others more. So I’m working on loving others more without thinking about if they’ll reject or judge me.

I just echo that same fear of rejection or judgment. What if I’m just not good enough or I don’t do a good enough job. God is challenging me as well to be brave and trust Him. Then, He will truly be lifted higher!

You are not alone. I am in my 3rd year of homeschooling my 4 children. I struggle daily thinking I am not doing the right thing. I get so much resistance from my children each day. It’s becoming more and more difficult.

Moses’ Mother gave him up to protect him. What a huge sacrifice she made and how much her heart mut have ached to let him go. Being a mom, I can so relate. Even when your children are grown you still want to protect them from this world and the hurts.

Living with a husband who doesn’t have a personal relationship with God needs you to be brave because instilling Godly values in your children will need alot of sacrifice on your side. I thank God for the women in exodus 1&2

Hi there brave woman of power and strength. Yes, that’s who you are Lydia. You may be feeling like you “are afflicted in every way…., but praise God you are not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed. — 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

I strongly agree with Barbara Johnson in Hope for a Woman’s Soul, in that “Cares are the tools God uses to fashion us for better things”. God uses setbacks and struggles to move us forward” Though life is fraught with problems, it’s good to know God can use them for our benefit and His glory (Romans 8:28).

I am a single mother of three thriving young daughters. Let me tell you, “When it rains, it pours”. Dealing with one problem is hard enough, but a constant stream of disappointments? Let me tell you, it’s a lot of stress and discouragement. But God is good, and He is teaching me important lessons even in the downpours. Through each difficult circumstance, I have learned to trust God — I mean really and truly trust Him. He didn’t change my circumstances or end my struggles, but He is moving me through them one day at a time. Praise God!

I come in agreement with you, for the believer, ” all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.(Romans 8:28). Remember, you are an overcommer…..fight the good fight of faith. Lydia, you are a woman of virtue… “She does him good . . .” (Proverbs 31:12a)

Lydia I know exactly how you feel, my husband is also very backslidden and we have a 3 year old together, I count myself very blessed as he lets me take our son to church, I pray for him and I read my Bible infront of him. Im trying my best as a CHristian wife and Christian mother. God knows ur troubles and remember God went thru a lot so we do aswell, but we are still here fighting the good fight, surely that says GOd is taking care of us. Stay BLessed

Its amazing how God works. It’s midnight here in CA and I just could not fall asleep. I started reading some blogs online as it relates to seeking the will of God for my life. Then I decided to stop and ask God’s direction on what I should be studying in this season of my life. I heard the Holy Spirit say Exodus. I thought really Exodus. I immediately started reading the scripture and stopped at chapter 3 and somehow The Lord led me to this website.wow amazing!!! I have no idea who you all are but I am so excited to know there’s a group of people hand picked to study this timely book.

In every society there are women who take brave leadership role. It’s so strange, in fact, that preachers and teachers usually tell it from the perspective of Moses, innocent little baby floating down the Nile grows up to lead his people to freedom. But before Moses was ever born or ever emerged from that basket of bull rushes, these five women chose to misbehave in quiet yet subversive ways that set into motion the very possibility for exodus; for salvation; for life. They were not great historic figures with prominent positions and lots of power. They were simply women who saw injustice and oppression and said in whatever way they could: no. They were all different, these five women of Exodus. And they were all the same, because they each in their own quiet way put up a hand in the face of all the violence and death and injustice going on around them… and said no. I am zealous!

Just think about what it would have felt like for Shiphrah and Puah. Trembling and fearful they must have been, going before supreme Pharaoh with a fabricated excuse for not following his orders. Surely they knew that with the flick of his wrist he could send them to their deaths. But they chose to say no to his plan of death and destruction and yes instead to the task they had been given: ushering new little lives into the world.

I feel encouraged in my spirit, this story of Exodus starts, with the stories of five unlikely women, because… because, you see, the work of God is always underway, and it happens most often through the faithful, subversive acts of insignificant people… people like the five women of Exodus , and people like you and me. Look around you. Do you see what I see? Oppression and fear; death and violence; injustice and inequity. I see them all the time… and so do you. You and I may not have the power of a Pharaoh or the resources of a president, even. But we do have the power to raise our little hands in the service of God to say no. No to oppression and death and injustice and exclusion. And yes, yes to a God who offers love and salvation, justice and peace… for everyone.
Remember, ushering in the kingdom of God is likely going to happen through quiet, subversive acts of faith by brave people like you and me.
Thanks
Leoniehttp://www.globalprofessionalservicesja.com

TGIFFFF…Hey Nadia,its time for me to go to bed…..ekkkk…i must reply to your comment. Here’s a list of 5 additional brave women in the Bible which captivates my attention.

You Are Designed to Be Brave…”My brave may look different than yours, but when we choose to step out and take risks, we are changed—and those around us change, too” Kat Cannon

That’s the essence of these verses in Exodus: not, you can be strong and brave if you try. Rather, you are strong and brave for one reason: God is with you. I love love love to read the story of Joshua….. paying special attention to the verse that reads “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”Joshua 1:9

God knows how you are feeling right now for He is with you, giving you strength and courage, as He calm your fears so to bring you into His great peace and comfort.

The words God used to empower his servant, Joshua, are meant to strengthen our hearts today. Be encouraged….you are not alone in your walk with Christ.
Warmly,
Leonie

This week I have to be brave about undergoing a surgical procedure just like these women trusted and reverenced God-I must do the same in order to bring healing to my body and my marriage. This surgery will determine if we will be able to conceive a child. I believe the report of the Lord. I will be brave and courageous and trusting God every step of the way.

This week has been amazing! Our daily readings have been so relevant to my life and I feel God is really speaking to me through my SOAK’s. I am also finding that kneeling before God each morning and giving it all to Him has been so powerful and is now my favorite part of the day <3.

I’ve been doing Bible Studies for the last 15 years and this is the FIRST time I have ever studied a book from the Bible chapter by chapter. I LOVE it!! Even though I have read through the Bible many times, by truly SOAKing up each chapter day by day, picking 2 verses & then journaling, God is speaking to my heart in new ways each & every day! Thank you Courtney for heading this up! I was going to blindly join a FB group & God IS so good that one of my fellow bloggers just happened to create a community on FB that I was able to join AND invite one of my new Christian friends to join too. Such a BLESSING! I’ve learned so far that even when life seems overwhelming & you feel like God has put you there & then “done nothing”. He IS doing something, just because I don’t see it at the moment, doesn’t mean He’s not orchestrating it out for just the right time. Rather then feeling hopeless, I need to feel hopeful knowing God DOES have a plan & just like His plan for the Israelites, it WILL be better then a plan I would’ve ever imagined 🙂

My word for the year is courage. I’m in a really bad marriage with an unbeliever. We have three amazing children, but we are currently having serious financial problems. But today reminded me that I need to stay brave and courageous, just like the women in Exodus, who’s problems and trials were so much harder than my own.

Hi! This has been my first email group Bible study, and this week has been amazing. I have known this story from childhood, but never have I dug so deep into it to find so many applications to my own life. It has been great!!

I have noticed how Moses was so self consious. He was focussed on himself and his own disabilities rather than God and His power to do the task.

Many times I feel like I am not enough, not equipped for the job of Mommy, wife, homeschool teacher, cook, housekeeper, etc!! But God made me as I am. He made no mistakes in placing me right where I am in life. He can use my strengths as well as my weaknesses to accomplish His work and bring glory to His name. It is not about me, it is all about HIM!!!

I have always loved the story of Moses’ mother and how brave she was. But I don’t remember ever focusing on the part of the midwives. Wow, how brave they were to go against the Pharoah! But I always get teary eyed as a mom of 3 boys when I read the part about Moses’ mother getting to take care of her own child after she had to give him up. Isn’t that just like God to work that out for her?! It gives me faith to believe that God can do miracles like that for me too.

Wow! I LOVE seeing the perspective and insight God gives each of us, that is so relevant to each of right where we are – His word is truly LIVING AND POWERFUL. Thank you Courtney for pointing out the bravery of these 5 women to stand against the forces of evil, even in what may have felt like the smallest acts of service to God that they could possibly perform.
I chose to SOAK vs 9-11 of ch2 focusing on Moses’s mother receiving him back into her arms, but still facing the inevitable day she would have to give him up again. How her mother’s heart must have ached as each day brought her closer to giving him up to her enemy, to be raised and influenced at such a tender age by their hatred and evil ways toward his people. What bravery and trust in God to feel so helpless, but still obediently give him up… I couldn’t imagine how hard that must have been.

Priscilla, I have to agree with you completely when you say, “I LOVE seeing the perspective and insight God gives each of us, that is so relevant to each of right where we are – His word is truly LIVING AND POWERFUL. ” I am choosing to be brave with my career as a charter school teacher. This month I will have to fill out my intent to return form. I intend to return, but I will not be filling in which grade. You see, I have been teaching 4th grade for a few years now and it has taken a toll on my family and my faith. I have been believing God for help to lighten my load, so that I may enjoy more time with Him (first) and my family. I am acting out on faith, doing something I have never done before. Instead of leaving it blank, I am going to write “Wherever God wants me.” I am leaving it in His hands and trusting Him completely. In the world of education, it can be scary, but I am going to be brave and trust God.

Many women from India who live in the USA face severe persecution by their unsaved husbands. My friend’s husband wants her to keep her faith as a secret. He thinks that his wife professing as a Christian is shameful to the family. She has boldly started a prayer ministry over the phone and he is trying to stop that. Back in India and in other countries women face even more danger due to unsaved families. Please remember such women in your prayers that they will be brave like the women in Exodus and be used by God mightily.

I am never read the bible like this and just bits and pieces. Having this place to go and read the bible one chapterms at a time is so wonderful. All the wonerve people on this give us more hope. My husband doesn’the do the faith and church so I am gettin my strength here as he is forever telling me I have the issues. I will succeed like the ladies in Exodus. I watched my mothe and frand mothers have much strength. Thank you Courtney.

Being brave when you want to just run away, when you want to give into the boiling anger inside is VERY hard. But, God is walking me through this valley. Oh yeah, holding my hand, filling my heart with His joy and peace and courage! Oh how wonderful He is! I am seeing Exodus in a whole new way. What great stuff there is in here yes? It is great sharing it with a great bunch of gals too!

I’m trying to be brave as I think about the future. What will my next path be, what do I want it to be and how can we afford to get there. I’m 56, still work full time and would like to eventually move from Maine to Florida to escape the cold weather! I’m also a very anxious person and try to deal with that as a read scripture. Sometimes thinking of the future is scary. Getting closer to God and reading his word is a great help. These women in Exodus were BRAVE.

On the top of my journal today I wrote Be Brave! I feel like I have learned so much this week in just the first 5 chapters. I am so thankful to all the ladies who post their thoughts. I have no excuse to Be Brave after reading about these 5 women. I am so excited to see what next week brings!! Thank you Courtney and team for all your hard work and thank you for todays blog.

I have to be willing to take my husband back, we are separated, he is dangerous and come close many times to hurting me. He is a very angry man. We need prayer, we are close to divorce and will have counseling next Tuesday. I want to keep my kids and I safe, but feel that maybe I should wait until somebody gets hurt according to scripture. I am scared, want to do the right thing but someone brought up to me that if I am hurt and he leaves again an injury may prevent me from working. I feel like I am going to have to make myself a victim. I am so sad.

Becky:
I’ll pray for you. Do you have a church/pastor you can reach out too? Any community resources. I’m glad your going to counseling. Please don’t get in a situation where you get hurt! Your in my prayers.

Don’t wait! Your life and the lives of your children are too precious to risk! God would not condone your husbands behaviour and you have a God given responsibility to protect your children. Pray, go to the counselling, but keep yourself and your children safe, if a separation is the best way to ensure that, so be it. Nothing, not even living apart will stop you from working on your marriage with Gods help, but the risk of dying by your husbands hand will.
Please stay safe, don’t become a victim, I’m praying for you, your children and your husband.

I know God is speaking to me in this area. Just this afternoon, as I was praying, at the end of my prayers, I began casting down the spirit of fear in my life. It was then, after my prayers, that I saw today’s blog on the examples of the bravery and the courage that these women had. As children of God we should not give in to fear and allow it to torment and control us and keep us from doing what God has called us to do. For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, of love and of a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7). Thank you Courtney for this wonderful blog post and I praise God for you and this ministry which is helping numerous women like myself.

I feel like I can relate to Moses’s mother in a way. I had a tough, tough year in 2014. I had to see all my children in the hospital. My 6 year old daughter had to have a heart cath due to a hole in her aorta, my 9 year old daughter had to undergo her 3rd hip surgery due to a reoccurring bone tumor and two weeks after my son was born he was admitted to PICU for RSV and respitory distress. At each hospitalization I had to entrust in a complete stranger to take care of my children. I had to be brave for my children and my husband and ensure them that everything would be ok, and to leave it in God’s hands. As I look back, my babies are all walking miracles. My 6 year old who had to have a heart cath for the whole, miraculously the hole shrunk and she only needed a coil compared to the device that was supposed to be the size of dime. My 9 year old’s bone tumor came back to benign and at her 3 month check up the mass had completely gone away. And as for my son who will be 1 next month, you could not tell he had spent one day in the hospital. All of these events have brought me closer to God and I thank him everyday for my blessings.
“I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

I am learning to be brave on my own, as my husband filed for divorce. Right now God is moving in many ways and in others, like finding the right rental for me and my two boys, I am learning to wait and trust.
One thing I SOAKED up was the I AM statement. It was truly powerful to know God is who He says He is and that is all I need, He is who I am trusting in.

Can someone PLEASE help me!!!! How can i get forgiveness. How can I know for sure the Jesus has forgiven me. I need prayers! I can’t sleep for fear I will died and not make it to heaven. I don’t know how many times i prayed the sinners prayer.

1 John chapter 1 verse 9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us all from unrighteousness.”

Also the Lord’s Prayer (taken from Matthew 6 verses 9-13 and Luke 11 verses 2-4) says “forgive us our trespasses (sins), as we forgive those who trespass against us”.
We even need to forgive ourself. We must grab hold of the forgiveness available to us through Christ.

From the moment we believe and put our faith and trust in Christ Jesus to save us from our sins, we are saved. We still have that old sinful nature, and will continue to commit sins, only now they have been nailed to the cross with Christ Jesus. He paid our sin debt in full, and we are covered by His blood, from now till eternity. We are given a new Spirit nature. We have died with Christ. We have been put in Christ. When we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit He will give us the power to say “no” to sin to put it to death (repentance).

I’ve realized myself no one can truly carry out and live the Christian life perfectly in their own strength; only God is perfect. If we try to, we just can’t. That’s why now we have Jesus our advocate, who stands between us and the Father (1 John 2 verse 1).

So please rest assured and trust God’s promise to you. I know when I was a new believer I had these same thoughts as you do too.

I feel like God is calling me to be brave in our finances and future careers. My husband is a corporate Chef and works long hours and is trying hard to enjoy it, however his dream is to open a local coffee shop (which our town doesn’t have!) I’ve led our finances for years and I’ve run them right into the ground, never saying no to anyone or anything. It’s caught up with us and we are currently in pay back mode, and are surviving month to month, all because of God’s faithfulness, I have no doubt. My husband is starting to plan and is really excited, thinks about this new endeavor day and night, and while I was worrying about it before, I’m slowly starting to just have faith. I’m starting to plan with him, look at our finances more closely and am praying to God daily to help me with this area of life.

While it’s not saving the world, it means a lot to my husband, which means it means a lot to me. This week has shown me to be faithful to no one’s timeline but His and that even when times seems rough, my faithfulness with help me get through and the other side will be beautiful!

I feel like God wants me to brave in sharing my faith with others. I am pretty shy so when it comes to things like that I struggle a bit. I am doing my best though and striving to be more like the women we have been reading about in Exodus.

Dear Lord, THankyou for your love, thankyou for being faithful, thankyou for always watching over us. I pray for all these women who are struggling in one way or another. I pray for marriages that are breaking down, I pray that you would change the hearts in both situations, I pray for financial breakthrough in the name of Jesus, I pray that broken hearts would be mended, I pray that families would be mended and I pray your protection against harm upon these women, these women are so precious to you and I know you love us all dearly. bring Peace bring love and bring forgiveness, as you forgive ALL sins. Thankyou that you are the same yesterday, today and forever!
Amen

Be encouraged girls, keep strong under the Mighty hand of God he has us in the palm of his hand. One thing I feel God has been telling me to do is watch and pray, watch and pray, don’t focus on the pain put all of your focus on him. Don’t feed your fear, feed your peace!

God loves you so much and wont ever put on u more than you could bear.

I have gotten so much out of this weeks study. I enjoy comments and perspectives from all of you. It makes me really dwell in God’s word. I think I am most thankful this week for Aaron. God has sent me my Aaron’s and couldn’t have gotten through this last 7 months without them. I love that although He knows what great things we can do, he humors us and sends us an Aaron, in my case Aarons. My Aarons prayed for me when I didn’t know what to pray for, encouraged me when I was so discouraged, lifted me up when I needed it, and most of all when prayer was answered, they were a physical manifestation of God’s answered prayers. To see them everyday is a reminder of God’s great love for me. The power that we have, studying God’s word together, distance and time is not an issue, we are surpassing the laws of physics through this. We have overcome time and space and the impact we will have is absolutely God willed and sanctified.

I am thoroughly enjoyed reading in the book of Exodus this week. It has made me stop and think what I would do if in the same situation. Trust, faith and hope and knowing that God will help us to over come are the words that keep coming back to me as I reflect on my week.

Be Brave….today is your day to enjoy your life as it unfolds. – The hardest part about being brave is letting go of what you were used to, and moving on with something you’re not. Today, you get to stop worrying, wondering, and doubting and have faith that things will work out. Laugh at the confusion, live consciously in the moment, and enjoy your life as it unfolds. You might not end up exactly where you intended to go, but eventually you will arrive precisely where you need to be.

Thank you Leonie for your comment! My husband and I have been talking about moving within the next couple years and I’ve found myself a little afraid. I don’t like change and love where I live now. However, the more I pray about it the more God shows me that I have to trust in him and his plan for my life. I need to be brave! Thank you for your encouragement!
Love,
Leah

Although I am doing the study, I just read Be Brave. I have been struggling with an area in my life that requires courage. I just had my first child and he is perfect. My husband and I have jobs that separate us. I want my family reunited but I fear quitting my job out of all of lives uncertainties. I have been praying for months (years) that God will give us job opportunities that will keep us together but we keep getting separated. I’m praying for a definitive answer and peace in that decision.

So, I’m a little bit behind everyone else, having got carried away with reading a couple of bits in the New Testament first…

It seems to me that I am living through a similar situation now to the times in Egypt at the start of Exodus. Not sure what any other country in the world is doing in their response to what happened in Paris last week, but in Britain what happened seems to be an excuse to justify even more powers for spying on ordinary people.

As I read chapter 1, I found myself thinking about what my response should be to what my government is doing; and what the ordinary Egyptians thought about what that Pharaoh decided to do back then.

I am reminded of the famous quote attributed to Martin Niemöller:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.